Tightening Up in Indonesia Before the APEC Summit

Weeks before the opening of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Jakarta on November 15,1994, the Indonesian government tightened controls on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the press and took harsh anti-crime measures involving what appeared to be extrajudicial executions of suspected criminals. A draft presidential decree designed to prevent NGOs from expressing dissent or opposition to government policies generated protests from human rights, labor, environmental and student organization. Meetings of NGOs in September and October to discuss the decree were broken up by security forces.

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